Valvular filler spout



Dec. 17, 1935. v w. T. ETZEL 2,024,631

VALVULAR FILLER SPOUT Filed May 24, .1933

""1 "Eu-1 E 55 Q6; 5 Ala W Patented Dec. 17, 1935 'A TEN T ossice 2,024,631 VALVULAR. FILLER SPOUT wanker. EtiieI, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application'May 2'4; issasefial No. 672,695

14 cases.

This invention relates to filler spouts for dis pensing fluids, and in particular, to improve ments in valvular filler spouts. V,

The type of valvular spout here under consideration is especially applicable for dispensing. volatile liquids as gasoline at filling stations and the like, Where it is difficult, tedious, and

ploy every second of his time, and in the rush, very frequently, when toldtof fill it up, runs the tank over. This latter condition not only antagonizes the driver oi a recently polished car and adds to the i-lr'ehazards, but also'wastes the fiuid'being dispensed to the prejudice of: either the gasoline, oil, or liquid dealer, or the car owner, himself.

The attendant or operator should haveseme" form of dispensing mechanismthat enable's'him to positivelybring the level of fluid in a con tamer to a desired height without the-necessity of constant inspection and attention, and that will even enable him to takecare of other duties while fluid or liquid is being dispensed, with the assurance that no loss, damage; or difiicultywill occur in his absenee. V V v Although there' have' been devised forms of filling nozzlesor spouts for the above-mentioned purposes, to'my knowledge, none of them have come into general usage. needless complexity of parts that eificient and consistent sensitiveness' of 'operatien: is impossible; some are so crude that satisfactory operatiori is impossible; others require such a lengthy. snout that the space limitations set by" the majority of automobile manufacturers in the location of the tap, bung, or filler hole are clearly violated; others make no provision for I varying the depth to which the tank, vessel; or

receptacle maybe filled; still others require a constant motivation in order that the shut-"off valve may operate at the proper instant, and,

it hasf'been" an object of my invention to provide an improved form of valve that will overcome disadvantages of present devices; I k v Another object oi my invention has been to devise a nozzle for dispensing liquids that is easy to manipulate and handle.

Another object of my invention has been the Some have such a provision of a nozzle valve that is positive yet sensitive in operation. 7

A further object of my invention hasbeen to provide'an efficient, effective, simple, andinexpensive form of valvular nozzle or filler spout. 5-"

These and many other objects of my invention will appear to those skilled in the art from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical elevational view, partially in section, of an illustrative embodiment of my invention;

Figs. 2 and 3 are perspective shovvingsofcer-' tain details;

Fig. 4-. is a vertical view in elevation of an-flfi" other detail; and V Fig. 5 is a perspective'showing of a modif ed form of detail.

Although I have illustrated my invention" as embodied in several forms, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art, that its scope is in no sense limited to such forms. In the drawing, the numeral ii) is representative of the valvular nozzleor spout as'a whole.

The nozzle I0 includes an inlet chamber, pipe or tube II in which a valve I6 is inclinedly disposed, an outlet or discharge chamber, pipe, or tube l2 having a float chamber iZa therein, and a mount and guard system 25-'--26'3i having an operating mechanism mounted thereon.

As shown, the inlet member H is divided into two" co'mpartments" by' an inclined partition member 5% that has a fluid passage or port 15' therein whose edges may be tapered to better form a valve seat; In order that the flow of fluid through the partition l4 may be limited or controlled, a suitable overhead or upwardly opening valve "5 has been provided. The valve 16 may be of annular form having aconeshaped or converging bottom portion, an upper 40 portion of hollow or sleeve construction; and, the bottom portion' is grooved for receiving a seat washer E8 of some suitable material such as fiber, leather, or soft metal. The upper portion of the'v'alve it has a cup-like form' to re'-' ceive a spiral positioning spring 13 therein, and is slidably disposed within and sealed from fluid in the chamber Ii by an inspection cap' 22 that is removably secured Within upwardly projecting threaded portions 2| of the inlet member H. The inspection plug 22 may be provided with an ordinary form of wrench-fiatin order that it may be tightly secured in locking position as; well as readily removed thereafter. It will be' noted that the spring I9 is protected from the fluid by the plunger-like fit between the cuplike valve sleeve and the inside of the cap 22.

The lower portion of the valve 16 has a stem ll extending downwardly therefrom. As seen, the member H is provided with. a downwardly inclined positioning extension through which the valve stem ll extends. In order to provide a fluid tight seal, I have inserted suitable packing 23 between the extension of the member H and the valve stem ll. The packing 23 is adjustably held in place by a slidable packing sleeve 2300; the latter in turn, is adjustably held in a given position by a threaded packing cap 231).

The right-hand or open end of the inlet tube H is internally threaded to receive the ordinary form of filler tube or hose (not shown) but the other end l3 of the inlet tube H and the upper end of the discharge tube l2 may be threaded and connected to form a unitary and continuous member. Although, for the purposes of inspection and repair, a threaded or removable connection is preferable, any form or fit may be employed. If desired, the discharge pipe i2 may be provided with a short length of flexible hose.

By devising two independently separate and parallel chambers or passages in the discharge spout ii, I have been able to not only eliminate any dead end space, and to materially lessen the length of the spout, but in addition, to accurately gauge the amount of gasoline or other fluid fed into the tank being filled and to carry out such gauging practice between wide limits or between a wide scale or range.

The inner or float chamber list is sealed from the inside wall of the discharge spout 12, in

order that fluid can enter therein from the bottom only. A float as, itself of cylindrical form and of floatable construction such as or" thin metal, is disposed within the chamber I20, to gauge or indicate the liquid level of the tank being filled and thus to indirectly control the operation of the valve H5.

The outer wall of the discharge pipe 2 may be suitably calibrated for different size tanks and sin addition, may be calibrated to different liquid levels, irrespective of actual liquid measure.

To aid in this, in the embodiment of Fig. i, I have shown a longitudinal strip 52 which is provided with a series of notches, flares, or teeth adapted to rest upon the top edge of the filler hole of a tank and restrict the penetration depth of the discharge spout I2. The notches may be spaced to conform to certain desired variations of liquid levels to be attained. The strip is rigidly secured to and forms an integral part of the outer wall of the spout l2, and, since the nozzle is generally inserted at an angle into the tank to be filled, the notches of the strip 52 will function even in an extremely large size filler hole.

In order that the valve operating mechanism may be compactly, securely, and effectively mounted in a proper position, I have furnished a mount frame and guard system designated by the numerals -25, 26, and 3|. The inlet member H, and the outlet member I2 are each respectively provided with mounting lugs extending from the outer walls thereof and adjacent their point of juncture, the member H is provided with a lug 25 projecting therefrom. This frame or guard system is mounted to extend downwardly and inwardly from the inlet member ll and sidewise and inwardly from the outlet member l2, adjacent the angular bend therebetween. Suitable side enclosing plates 21, one of which is shown, may be mounted over the mount and guard system in order to suitably protect the operating mechanism. In the drawing of Figure 1, the left-hand plate has been removed showing the mounting screw holes while only the right-hand plate is in place.

In the embodiments of my invention shown, the operating mechanism or lever system includes resetting mechanism, trip mechanism, lost-motion mechanism, balance mechanism, and float means.

Since the spring I9 normally holds the valve I6 in a closed position, it follows that the oper-. ating mechanism must compress the spring during normal periods of fluid flew and must release it when the desned height of liquid in the container has been reached. In order to attain this result, a lever system has been devised which includes a valve operating or lever guide 24 having a practically straight portion upon which is formed a valve-stem seat (see Fig. 1), the end of which is bifurcated and pivotally secured by pivot means to the centrally extending lug 25.

The other substantial half or the extending portion of the guide lever 24 is upwardly concaved or curved to cooperate with the reset mechanism which includes a reset cam 28 rigidly secured on a pivot shaft 29 which in turn, is pivotally supported between bifurcated ears 30 extending upwardly from the upper surface of the partition arm 3!.

In order that the operator may partially rotate the cam 28 and raise the valve guide lever against the resiliency of the spring !9 into a valve opening position, the right end of the shaft 28 (from the attendants normal position) extends through the right-hand cover 21 a distance suificient to permit a push lever 32 (see Fig. 3) to be secured thereto.

As seen, the cam 28 has two oppositely projecting faces, the upper of which may be rounded to smoothly lift the curved portion of the guide lever 2d, the lower end of which is abrupt or pointed, in order that during the period when the cam is in a raised position, the lower end will extend downwardly through a slot cut centrally through the longitudinal partition member 3| and cooperate with and reach into a complementary slot 35 cut in a catch lever 33. The catch lever 33 is pivotally secured Within the upper portions of the bifurcations of a downwardly extending lever-mounting lug 34. The other, or the extending end portion of the catch lever 33 is connected to a lost motion link 40, which in turn, is connected to a float controlled lever 39.

As seen, the upper end of the connecting arm 49 is longitudinally slotted at M in order that it may be slidably pivoted in a lost motion manner to the catch lever 33. The links or levers 33, 4, and 39 may be pivotally connected together by cotter or any suitable form of pivot pins. The effective length of the slot 4! substantially represents the distance of slide of the connecting lever 39, and thus, represents the distance of rise of the lever 39 before the lower end of the slot 4| abuts the connecting pin of the catch lever 33 and pushes the end of such catch lever upwardly about its pivot point to release the cam 28. The slot 4| may be lengthened or shortened, if desired, in order that any degree of lost motion between the travel of the link 4 and the operation of the tripping mechanism may be attained.

Now, referring particularly to the embodiment eas est shut by the operator atany time, regardless of the amount of fluidin the tank being filled, a trip mechanism including a lever 46'is pivotally mounted "to extend through the frame member 26. The lever 46 has an upwardly "curved and extending dog 41 adapted to cooperate with the 1 short end of lever 33. This dog portion 41 is normally held out of'abutment with the lever 33 by the off-balancing weight of the long and upwardly curved trip arm portion of lever 46.

j Tojsetthe valve l6 to an open'from a closed position, the knob 32 on the end of the reset cam shaft Ziiis pushed, and thus, turned or partially rotated in aforward or clockwise direction until the'lower face portion of the cam 28 slides into a set or locked relation with the slot 35 of the catch lever 33; this rotation causes the other end of the cam 28 to raise the guide lever 2t and the valve rod or stem l1 against the resiliency of the spring 19. Thus, the spring I9, by reason of its compressive force, aids in holding the cam 3'0" 28 and the catch lever 33 in a cooperating relationship until they are released by other mechanism. Now, the filler nozzle ill will permit a flow. of fluid in the direction indicated by the arrows through the inlet pipe ll, past the valve l6 and out through the discharge pipe 12.

As the flow of liquid is initiated and fluid rushes into the tank or container, the float 36 will slowly rise until the lower end of the slotii in the connecting or lost. motion arm 40 contacts with the pivot pin of the catch lever 33, after which the extending end of the catch lever 'st-i's raised and the cam 28 is snapped out of complementary relationship with respect to the slot therein by the force of the compression spring 19. Simultaneously, of course, the valve 56 is snapped shut.

As shown, the float chamber [2a is separately formed and is rigidly secured to a portion of the inside wall of the'discharge or outlet chamber I2. The float 35 and the valve l6, have a diam eter somewhat smaller than that of their respective chambers, and annular ribs 36a and l6a, respectively, act as liquid seals and as slide sur- It should also be noted that a seat washer E8 of conic form is held in place on valvel6 by a screw nut llia.

In Fig. 3, I have shown a thumb or push'lever 3'2, partially enclosed by a slotted cap 210:, that constitutes an extension of the right-hand cover plate 21; The cap 210. aids in the manipulation of the push lever 32, since the operator can grip it with his hand while operating the lever with his thumb or finger.

In order to control the quantity rate or amount of fluid flow past the valve I6, I have provided the seat portion of the guide lever 24 with a slot and have journaled a cam shaft' li upon the walls adjacent such slot and between those walls and suitable strips 42.

As shown, the cam w (or ifl is mounted in the slot and is rigidly secured to shaft .1%; at its extending end the shaft is provided with a hand lever 43 which, when turned vertically upward, rotates cam 40 01" (MW) un'tilits lower, or in the case of cam st g-its flat face," comes inbo n 'tact with the end valve stem I1 is raised the maximum height from it's seat against the resiliency of the spring I9 (see Fig. 1) when the guide lever 24 is set; the depressed or lower face of flow rate cam 40* is shown in position for slow flow in Fig. 2. Thus, it appears that the rate control mechanism modifies the effectiveness of the guide lever 24 with reference to the opening of valve l6, and. with reference to the consequent fluid flow there-' through.

From the above explanation, it will appear that the cam 40 (or the'cam Mi is positioned between the operating system and the valvular means in such manner that the efiective travel of the parts'of such system may be Varied. That is, the cam means is provided in order that the degree of opening of the vulvular means, and thus, the amount or quantity rate of fluid flow therethrough may be controlled independently of such system. Although such an operating lever as 24 or such a cam as 28 will actually be moved to the same position when the valvular means is to be opened, yet the effective distance is not actually the same when considered from the standpoint .of the valvular means It or its associated stem H. The diameter of the cam Ml (or 46 will thus govern the height or distance to which the valve I6 is raised from its seat l4. The catch lever 33 is provided with somewhat of an angular bend in the substantial center of its longer extending end in view of the fact that the shoulder of lever 33 and is operated or trippedby an upward pull of the finger of the operator on its handle portion. Dog 4'! moves downwardly and forwardly to release catch lever 33, and the face end of cam 28 moves forwardly (to the left in Fig. 1') and upwardly to release guide lever 24. When the valvular'mechanism is set, the levers 33 and 39 have a certain relative relationship with respect to each other.

As the fiow'of fluid is initiated and it rushes into the container, the float 36 will slowly rise until the lower endof the slot M in the connecting or lost-motion link or arm it! contacts with" the pivot pin of 'the catch lever 33, after which, the extending end of the catch lever 33 is raised and the cam 28 is snapped out of a complementary relationship with respect to the slot therein by the force of the compression of the consequent change in their centers of gravity. This is an additional safety feature, in that fluid flow is immediately shut off, if and when the nozzle is accidently pulled or knocked out of the filler hole of a tank or the like.

Although I have shown particular embodiments of my invention for the purpose of illustration, yet many modifications, substitutions, omissions, and the like may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a filler spout, the combination of valvular means disposed therein for controlling fluid flow therethrough, an operating member for moving said valvular means to an open position, and means mounted on the spout for controlling the movement of said operating member and regulating the quantity rate of fluid flow, said means being operable from the outside of the spout, so that the movement of said operating member may be controlled thereby for each operation thereof.

2. In a filler spout, the combination of. valvular means disposed therein for controlling fluid flow therethrough, an operating member for moving said valvular means to an open position, and a lever means operably mounted upon the spout for controlling the movement of said operating member and regulating the quantity rate of fluid flow. I

3. In a filler spout, the combination of valvular means disposed therein for controlling fluid -flow therethrough, an operating member for moving said valvular means to an open position, and cam means operatively mounted between said valvular means and said operating member for controlling the effective movement of said operating member with respect to said valvular means, and thus for regulating the fluid flow.

4. In a filler spout, the combination of a valvular means disposed therein for controlling fluid flow therethrough, said valvular means having a stem extending therefrom, an operating lever mounted on the spout and cooperating with the end of said stem, means for abutting with and moving said lever to a valve-opening position, and means positioned between said operating lever and said stein for varying the effective travel of said moving means with respect to said valve stem.

5. In a filler spout, the combination of a valvular means disposed therein for controlling fluid flow therethrough, said valvular means having a stem extending therefrom, an operating lever pivotally mounted on the spout for cooperating with the end of said valve stem, and means disposed between said operating lever and the end of said valve stem for controlling the effective travel of said lever with respect to said valve stem, and means for moving said lever to a valve-opening position.

6. In a filler spout, the combination of a valvular means disposed therein for controlling fluid flow therethrough, said valvular means having a stem extending therefrom, an operating lever pivotally mounted on the spout, a fluid-flowcontrol-cam pivotally mounted on said lever and abutting with the end of the valve stem, and means cooperating with said lever for moving it to a valve-opening position.

7. In a filler spout, the combination of a valvular means disposed therein for limiting and controlling fluid fiow therethrough. an operatin lever pivotally mounted on the filler spout and having a portion cooperating with said valvular means, means raising said operating lever for opening said valvular means, means pivotally mounted on the spout and cooperating with said raising means for holding it in a raised position, hand operable means mounted on the spout and having a portion for abutting said holding means, said last-mentioned means being adapted to operate said holding means to release said raising means.

8. In a filler spout, the combination of a valvular means disposed therein for limiting and controlling fluid flow therethrough, said valvular means having an extending stem, an operating means pivotally mounted on the spout and having a portion cooperating with said stem for moving said valvular means to an open position, means for holding said operating means in a raised position, means for latching said holding means, and means at one end pivotally mounted on the spout for releasing said latch means.

9. In a filler spout, the combination of a valvular means disposed therein for limiting and controlling fluid flow therethrough, cooperating levers for maintaining said valve in an open position, at least two of said levers being pivotally mounted at one end on the spout, another of said levers being connected to one of said two levers and being pivotally mounted on the spout, and means for operating said levers and for releasing said valvular means.

10. In a filler spout, the combination of a valvular means disposed therein for controlling fluid flow therethrough, said: valvular means having an extending stem, an operating lever pivoted to said spout for cooperating with said stem, a controlling means cooperating with said operating lever and with said stem forcontrolling the effective travel of said operating lever with respect to said stem, means for moving said operating lever about its pivot point to a valveopening position, and a system for holding said last-mentioned means in a valve-opening position and for releasing said means when the fluid in a container being filled has reached the desired height.

11. In a filler spout, the combination of a valvular means disposed therein for controlling fluid flow therethrough, said valvular means including means for resiliently holding it in a closed position, an operating lever pivotally positioned on the spout, a cam pivotally mounted on a portion of said operating lever, said cam abutting said valve stem and having one face larger than another face for varying the effective travel of said operating lever with respect to said valve stem, and thus controlling the fluid flow through said valve, and means for moving said operating lever to a valve-opening position, said cam being curved continuously from a lower to an upper face, so that it may be rotated about its pivot point when the said lever has moved the valve to an open position.

12. In a filler spout, the combination of a resiliently positioned valvular means disposed therein for limiting and controlling fluid flow therethrough, said valvular means having an extending stem, an operating lever pivotally mounted on said spout and having a portion cooperating with the extending end of said valve stem, a cam pivotally mounted on said spout and having a face cooperating with a portion of said operating lever for moving it to a valve-opening position, a catch lever pivotally mounted on said spout and having a portion for cooperating with said cam for holding said cam in a valve-opening position, a lever pivotally mounted on said spout and pivotally connected to said catch lever, and a trip mechanism including a dog adapted to contact said catch lever and to move said catch lever about its pivot point for releasing said cam.

13. In a, filler spout, the combination of valvular means disposed therein for limiting and controlling fluid flow therethrough, said valvular means having an extending stem, an operating lever pivotally mounted on the spout and having a portion cooperating with said stem, a second lever pivotally mounted on the spout, means pivotally mounted on the spout and cooperating with said operating lever and said second lever for holding said valvular means in an open position, a third lever at one end pivotally'mounted on the spout and being connected adjacent another end to said second lever, a fluid sensitive float means disposed within said spout and. connected to said third lever for operating said third lever and releasing said valve, and

means pivotally mounted on the spout and adapted to cooperate with said second lever for independently releasing said valvular means.

14. In a filler spout, the combination of valvular means disposed therein for controlling fluid flow therethrough, an operating member for moving said valvular means to an open position,

and means mounted on the spout for controlling the movement of'said operating member, said 

